Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo’s quote in the first paragraph of his story in The Australian this weekend highlights how even one of the most influential technology leaders in Australia still struggles with our interface with our wonderful innovations…
I love technology – I say as I write this using a Bluetooth keyboard linked with my 3G smartphone, emailed as I sit here at the Brisbane Art Gallery. But we need technology that makes our life better. It’s only when our use of technology is applied towards making our life better that there’s any point using it!
That’s why, once I’ve finished this message, I’ll be writing in my Moleskine with my Parker fountain pen… Technology applied to beautify and enhance our lives…
My company, ShirtsandSuits.com struggled with that difference. We came up with a way to give people custom-made business shirts and suits at department store prices. But it wasn’t until we realised that people buy feelings and experiences rather than the basic product… Our clients want to be well dressed, they want convenience and they want personal service. Now, technology is the price of entry into the market.
Have you noticed that when you are nice to service workers, they tend to be nice to you?
A few politely playful remarks – a little flirting even! – a smile and a peaceful state of mind gets me almost invariably superior service. It’s really about giving people good service, even when you’re the customer.
Commencement speeches give leaders the opportunity to contribute something of great value to a group of students preparing to study. More common in America, these speeches have been known to be delivered by great leaders from a range of fields. The commencement address delivered at MIT a few weeks ago provides a few interesting reminders of the role of economics in our modern world; that economics allows us to understand what we have done to work towards our current state of prosperity with indications as to what we might need to do to build towards the future.
… taking full advantage of new information and communication technologies may require extensive reorganization of work practices, reassignment and retraining of workers, and ultimately some reallocation of labor among firms and industries. Regulations that raise the costs of hiring and firing workers and that reduce employers’ ability to change work assignments–like those in a number of European countries, for example–may make such changes more difficult to achieve. Likewise, in product markets, a high degree of competition and low barriers to the entry of new firms in most industries in the United States provide strong incentives for firms to find ways to cut costs and to improve their products. In some other countries, in contrast, the prominence of government-owned firms with a degree of monopoly power, together with a regulatory environment that protects large incumbent firms and makes the entry of new firms difficult, reduces the competitive pressure for innovation and the application of new ideas. Competition is one of the key benefits of free and open trade; companies that are exposed to global competition tend to be much more efficient and to produce goods of higher quality than companies that are sheltered from international competition.
A successful society needs low costs for hiring and firing – yet, we also need to protect workers from exploitation… don’t we? Competition builds discipline and outcome-focused achievers by keeping our leaders hungry without letting them starve… yet, how much does it cost to have product, service and labour disruptions?
Some observers point to the depth, liquidity, and sophistication of American financial markets as contributing to recent productivity gains. Sizable markets for venture capital and ready access to equity financing facilitate start-up enterprises, which are often the best means of bringing new technologies to the market.
Better access to money tends to facilitate the commercialisation of new value, without ignoring the importance of actually having something of value to commercialise.
a key question each of you will face repeatedly in your lives is how to use the talent and education that you have been given and the knowledge that you have attained. With respect to your professional lives, I hope that when you make career choices, you will look first for opportunities that excite you intellectually, that allow you to use your creative powers to the fullest extent, and that let you continue to learn and grow. I hope you will not be afraid to be unconventional, to do something nobody else has thought of before. Remember that the path to success and fulfillment may not be well marked, the scaling of some predetermined ladder; it may instead be a road without signs or maps. And remember that it is OK to fail–really: New opportunities will always arise for those who seek them. If you remain nimble in searching out new and unexpected opportunities, it will not only benefit you, but it will also benefit the economy and our society, as long experience has shown that dynamism and creativity are the seeds of innovation and of progress.
Cool…
After I saw video screen replacement goggles in Disneyland in 1997, I thought that having a set of glasses that you could use to watch video (or replace a laptop screen) would be a wildly cool idea! Finally MicroOptical appear to have bridged the gap between the strictly functional applications in the military and medical fields to allow we mere consumers access to this great technology…
But what is most noteable about their MyVu product, to me, is that it is beautiful… a little like Data from Star Trek Next Generation, but still stylish. Kinda reminds me of my ThinkOutside keyboard that I love so much and even my old Palm Tungsten T3. Not just functional, though eminiently so, but also beautiful!
It’s not that hard… really…
Interestingly (at least to the entrepreneur in me), the awesome company ThinkOutside was sold last month for just $2.5m
Schools are powerful drivers of our future. After growing up believing that Brisbane State High School was the ‘ultimate’ thanks to an enthusiastic mother who went through there, I’ve come to appreciate and respect the different schools that exist. In Brisbane and Sydney, the GPS system is a marker of some of the better schools, though such membership is neither necessary nor sufficient for the school to actually be ‘great’.
Fort Street High is a great school. The oldest in Australia, tracing its foundation back to 1849, it has educated some great people… yet what makes a great school?
Surely it’s not just a place where people who become great go… it must be a place that consistently lifts students more than they would have been lifted elsewhere. If so, a great school should be able to help a student stand on taller giants than they would have otherwise dared.
The school motto is not necessarily a sure indicator of the culture of the school any more than a mission statement is of a company. But I do like Faber est suae quisque fortunae… “Every man is the maker of his own fortune”
What would your motto be?
Published on
16 June, 2006 in
Karate.
We have been training with weapons, especially eskrima sticks, in the past few weeks
Applied self defence techniques, especially on Tuesday. Focusing upon fundamental defences, especially against basics like frontal attacks.
Thursday, Paul led through punch routine, kick routine and five one-on-ones before focusing on ido kihon waza. We then focused on purposeful movement: Projecting energy in the direction of motion while keeping the head level so as to drop the weight into the technique. A few laps of the dojo in zenkutsudachi and shikadachi helped cement the movement.
Ran through naihanchin as it was taught in 1993, then sanchin, tensho and seinchin.
Yaksuko: based upon the defence against double head punch from the start of tensho, slipping into the snake position.
Evaluating options is very challenging. We can come up with great ideas through divergent thinking and develop them into viable concepts. But evaluating ideas is fundamentally like evaluating art – there are so many different perspectives.
But de Bono has a set of six criteria that could be useful for you. To understand the model, read the book… but here’s the basic outline:
Summaries and thoughts on some books:
Edward de Bono: The Six Value Medals
- There are six medals of different materials, each representing different constructs or values to focus thinking around: Gold, Silver, Steel, Glass, Wood, Brass.
- Gold
Human values; the values that affect people.
- Silver
Organisational values; those values related to the purpose of the organisation such as profit, cost controls or the family or friends or club.
- Steel
Quality: Steel should be strong, so how well does the product, service or function deliver what it should?
- Glass
Innovation, simplicity and creativity – Glass is simple, coming from sand, but creativity allows for many possibilities.
- Wood
Environmental values: Impact upon the community, on the environment and on others who are not necessarily involved.
- Brass
Perceptual values: How does it appear? How might it look? Perception can be reality…
What do you think?
This is just a framework, albeit a framework that is interesting and aspires to be comprehensive…
Men will create a hierarchy for themselves within a group and will express their sense of position to those around them. Some men establish themselves as the leaders of a group; others feel more comfortable in a lesser position. To me, there is no purpose served in establishing yourself as the leader of a group just for the sake of it – it takes energy and the group may be of little or no real value – but it’s important to be able to have the freedom to choose.
In this context, and to help give you the freedom to choose, I observe a few factors that are significant in establishing and maintaining position within a group:
- Posture and physique
- Hip-to-shoulder ratio
- Symmetry
- Speech – Accent and vocal quality
- Presentation
- Style of clothing
- Quality of clothing
- Grooming
- Handshake strength and style
- Charisma
Of course, these factors only provide a model for understanding rather than providing a definition or prescription…
What do you think?
And how does it work for women?
We judge people that we meet everyday. Sometimes we judge them as a potential friend, a potential business partner or a potential intimate partner… other times, we judge them just as a human being. While judging others is regarded as a ’sin’ for many and tends to be a source of emotional pain and anguish for others, most of us still do it. Rather than lamenting the inadequacies of those around us, perhaps we can use our awareness of their weaknesses to help them see beyond their shortsightedness, while becoming more aware of our own limitations.
I came across a story promoting the movie of Peaceful Warrior, a movie version of Dan Millman’s book about pursuing the spiritual path. This is predicated by the notion that a spiritual or personal ‘path’ in life can be compared with a war… that we struggle to overcome our personal challenges and must discipline ourselves as a warrior would in preparing and fighting a physical enemy.
Bushido, literally the way of the warrior, was the code of honour that the samurai were bound by in the past; today, martial artists throughout the world apply this both to their own training, and through analogy to life in general.
Over brunch with an artist this morning, it occurred to me that the ‘warrior’ path and the ‘artist’ path are very similar. While overtly different, there is a great deal of overlap… the warrior must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this day may be his (or her) last. The artist must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this piece is the only thing that matters in that moment. After observing a number of parallels, I realised that the ‘warrior’ path or the ‘artist’ path is not so much about being at war or creating art…
Following your path is about being congruent.
Following your path is about focusing in the moment.
Following your path is about manifesting in the world that which you purport to value, rather than living in a state of dissonance and dischord.
Different metaphors allow us access to different insights to your path, though your path remains.
Allow me to commend to you whatever path you feel ‘turns you on’, ‘blows your hair back’ or ‘does it for you’… I believe that the Truth comes from being true to yourself; not from blindly following that which you have been given, nor from ignoring your intuition, but from being guided and noticing how you can refine your personal path in each moment.
The idea is simple: Let people download language lessons for free.
There are currently something like 30m people throughout the world learning Chinese, and one company has figured out a way to get access to some of that market… and I think that it’s awesome!
Most of us won’t pay to learn a language, but here is a way to get the basic information for free… they make money from subscribers who want to get the transcripts and additional course materials – the bits that really add value to the experience.
On top of which, it’s updated weekly, and has both enduring and time-linked stories.
Quite remarkable!